Wednesday, October 31, 2012

How to make gluten-free soaked oats

I remember a few years ago the "all natural, whole foods, all organic" food blogging community went bonkers over soaked oats. Basically all you did was add oats to a glass bowl or container, add double the amount of water (or thereabouts) possibly add some lemon juice or something acidic to help break down the oatmeal... and 8 hours later = soaked oats.

But why in the WORLD would you "soak" your oats?

Well, some nutritional experts (especially those in the Sally Fallon/ Weston Price camp) say that soaking grains is the more traditional way to prepare them for cooking. They also believe that by soaking them it breaks down the naturally occuring "phytic acids" that apparently can inhibit the body from digesting the foods properly (or something along those lines.)

I won't try to pretend to be a scientific food expert or a nutritionist... so I don't have any real idea if all the hype about phytic acid is or isn't a big deal nutritionally. All I know (as a lover of all things oatmeal) is that these oats are super tasty, probably healthy, and incredibly easy to make.

So the reason I personally soak oats... because it's so darn easy and it means I can make breakfast the night before and eat it cold or heat it up for a hot, cozy cereal! I love oats and oatmeal. I always have. I grew up eating it and while I don't eat a lot of refined carbs, I love having a warm bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.

Directions:
Add all ingredients to a glass jar. Stir to combine and cover tightly with lid or plastic wrap. Store in refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight. Soaked oats can be eaten cold or can be heated either on the stove or in the microwave (only takes about 90 seconds.) This recipe makes about 4 (3/4 cup) servings. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

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Want more info on the reasons other people soak their oats? Check out these links:

Note of Curiosity: If you click through to some of the links listed above, a few of the recipes have wheat flour included in the soaking ingredients. Since we're gluten-free, we're definitely not adding any type of wheat flour to our soaked oats. I'm not exactly sure how the addition of wheat is supposed to "better" the soaking process... but our soaked oats are completely delicious on their own, all naturally gluten-free.

Thanks for posting on this because i love (gluten free) oats but I am quite nervous about phytic acid and chance of reducing any vitamin/mineral malabsorption. The only thing I'm wondering about is isn't it in the liquid so you are still eating it?

I loved oats in Winter and sprinkled on crumbles, I haven't eaten them for a few years because of all the contradicting views on whether they are gluten free. These look delicious though so I might have to do a bit of research on the oats available in my area. Thank you :D